Please, pretty please: We know you feel compelled to talk the talk, but please Sen. Kerry, when elected, walk the walk -- the deficit; Part II
On 8-16-04 we had a post entitled "We know you feel compelled to talk the talk, but please Sen. Kerry, when elected, walk the walk -- the deficit." The post noted that while Kerry has accused Bush of pushing through tax cuts and big spending that have added trillions of dollars to the federal debt, Kerry's proposals on reducing the deficit don't add up, and in fact, could add to the deficit.
The Washington Post on 8-25-04 says:
For all of the criticism that Kerry has leveled at President Bush over his fiscal policy and deficit spending, Kerry's spending plans might actually grow the deficit.
A Washington Post review of Kerry's tax cuts and spending plans, in addition to interviews with campaign staff members and analyses by conservative and liberal experts, suggests that they could worsen the federal budget deficit by nearly as much as President Bush's agenda. If projected savings from unspecified cuts do not materialize, Kerry's pledges could outstrip those of the president, whom the Democrat has repeatedly accused of unprecedented fiscal recklessness.
"I wish Senator Kerry was providing a starker contrast," lamented Leonard E. Burman, a tax policy analyst at the Urban Institute, who was a Treasury Department official in the Clinton administration. "The [Bush] policies with respect to the deficit are insane. They have to be reversed. But it will take presidential leadership to do it."
"You have to begin with the premise that the steps you need to take to reduce deficits are almost diametrically opposed to the steps you need to take to win elections," said Leon E. Panetta, Bill Clinton's first budget director. "You can cut spending and raise taxes or you can cut taxes and raise spending."
Bush and Kerry have chosen to do the latter, and would leave in place all or some of the tax reductions enacted early in the Bush administration.
"We're faced with a choice between a president who has heavily mortgaged the country and who has no plan to deal with deficits except economic growth, versus an opponent who says he wants to do something about the deficit but whose numbers may not add up," Panetta said.
The Washington Post on 8-25-04 says:
For all of the criticism that Kerry has leveled at President Bush over his fiscal policy and deficit spending, Kerry's spending plans might actually grow the deficit.
A Washington Post review of Kerry's tax cuts and spending plans, in addition to interviews with campaign staff members and analyses by conservative and liberal experts, suggests that they could worsen the federal budget deficit by nearly as much as President Bush's agenda. If projected savings from unspecified cuts do not materialize, Kerry's pledges could outstrip those of the president, whom the Democrat has repeatedly accused of unprecedented fiscal recklessness.
"I wish Senator Kerry was providing a starker contrast," lamented Leonard E. Burman, a tax policy analyst at the Urban Institute, who was a Treasury Department official in the Clinton administration. "The [Bush] policies with respect to the deficit are insane. They have to be reversed. But it will take presidential leadership to do it."
"You have to begin with the premise that the steps you need to take to reduce deficits are almost diametrically opposed to the steps you need to take to win elections," said Leon E. Panetta, Bill Clinton's first budget director. "You can cut spending and raise taxes or you can cut taxes and raise spending."
Bush and Kerry have chosen to do the latter, and would leave in place all or some of the tax reductions enacted early in the Bush administration.
"We're faced with a choice between a president who has heavily mortgaged the country and who has no plan to deal with deficits except economic growth, versus an opponent who says he wants to do something about the deficit but whose numbers may not add up," Panetta said.
posted by Sid Cottingham | 5:40 PM
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